Building on significantly increasing graduation rates, the school district defines academic and social-emotional indicators of college and career readiness
(Council Bluffs, Iowa) September 12, 2017 — Today, the Council Bluffs Community School District (CBCSD) is proud to announce how the district defines and supports FutureReady Graduates. The district’s most current version of the Profile of FutureReady Graduate encompasses both academic and social-emotional indicators of growth and success.
The Profile of a Council Bluffs FutureReady Graduate supports the mission of the Council Bluffs Community School District to guarantee that every student graduates with the knowledge, skills, and character to become a responsible citizen and to succeed in a changing world. The Profile of a FutureReady Graduate spells out the knowledge, skills, and character attributes in 10 key areas.
The social-emotional indicators of a FutureReady Graduate at CBCSD are inspired by the five core social-emotional learning competencies defined by CASEL, a leading national organization promoting academic and social-emotional learning. The competencies of a FutureReady Graduate are:
- Self-management
- Self-awareness
- Social awareness
- Relationship skills
- Responsible decision making
The Council Bluffs Community School District is using Panorama Education for Social-Emotional Learning to provide research-backed measures of social-emotional learning that align with the competencies of a FutureReady Graduate and for student reports to understand and act on students’ needs and opportunities for growth.
At the district’s middle and high schools, advisement provides the common time during the school day for skill-building around healthy relationships and social-emotional competencies. Advisement teachers are responsible for forging strong relationships with students to promote their academic and social-emotional growth. During advisement, teachers and students will use social-emotional data from Panorama Education to facilitate one-on-one conversations with students about social-emotional goals and growth. In addition, students and teachers will use social-emotional indicators of FutureReady Graduates to engage parents and families.
The academic indicators of a FutureReady Graduate include grade point average (GPA), attendance, credits earned beyond the minimum, community and activity involvement, and planning for school and beyond. The academic data points identified by the Profile indicate students’ readiness to graduate and to thrive in college, career, and community life.
“Our aims for spelling out the indicators of FutureReady Graduates are to support every student through graduation and to ensure that, by graduation, students have the skills and competencies for holistic success in life,” said Dr. Corey Vorthmann, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. “Reading, math, and academic readiness are our baseline. With the new Profile of a FutureReady Graduate, we are committing as a district to ensure students also have the skills and attitudes to be active, positive members of our communities throughout their lives.”
“We are proud that over the past 10 years, CBCSD has grown our graduation rates a tremendous amount—we’ve increased graduation rate by nearly 20%,” said Superintendent Vickie Murillo, who begins her tenure with the district this fall. “The growth in graduation rate is the result of remarkable focus and effort by families, students, teachers, and staff at CBCSD. The Profile of a Council Bluffs FutureReady Graduate represents the next step for supporting every student to graduate and to thrive and succeed in the professional, family, and civic aspects of their lives.”
To learn more, visit the district website at cb-schools.org.
About Panorama Education
Panorama Education partners with schools and districts to collect and analyze data about social-emotional learning, school climate, family engagement, and more. With research-backed surveys and a leading technology platform, Panorama helps educators act on data and improve student outcomes. Panorama has supported more than 6 million students in 6,500 schools across 40 states, including those in the New York City Department of Education, Dallas Independent School District, Seattle Public Schools, and San Francisco Unified School District. To learn more about Panorama Education, visit PanoramaEd.com.
About Council Bluffs Community School District
The Council Bluffs Community School District serves families in Carter Lake, Crescent, and Council Bluffs, Iowa. More than 9,000 students attend two high schools (grades 9-12), two middle schools (grades 6-8), and 11 elementary schools (pre-K–5). The school district is creating the path forward by offering students specially-designed programs to meet the needs of diverse learners, rigorous academic course offerings, multiple ways to earn college credit in high school including advanced placement concurrent college courses, career and technical classes, award-winning academic and extracurricular activities and clubs, expanded fine arts programs for students of all interests, specialized services to serve both advanced and struggling learners as well as all students in between, valued parent and community involvement, and secure and updated school environments.